1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates generally to a mounting arrangement for antennas. Particularly, the invention relates to a mounting arrangement for dish, or parabolic antennas which allows a plurality of such antennas to be mounted in a convenient and space saving fashion.
2. Description of The Prior Art
Recently, the popularity and utility of satellite broadcasting has greatly increased. As a result, a large number of satellite antennas has come into use both in individual homes and in satellite communication stations. These antennas, which may be for receiving or transmitting signals usually are in the form of a parabolic dish which is mounted on a pole to be aimed so as to optimally receive or transmit satellite signals.
FIG. 3 shows a conventional mounting system for such a parabolic antenna. As can be seen in the drawing, a parabolic antenna A is mounted atop a pole B via a mounting portion 5, secured by a bolt 12. The mounting portion 5 is joined to the dish body 1 of the antenna at substantially a center portion thereof. The mounting portion 5 comprises a circular cap open on an underside thereof for fitting over a top end or the pole B. After being fitted over the top of the pole B, the mounting portion 5 is tightened via the bolt 12, which fits in a threaded hole 14 to affix the antenna A securely to the pole B.
The above described arrangement has a drawback however, in that, since many locations such as apartment buildings, or satellite communication stations, broadcasting stations etc., may require installation of a plurality of antennas, a large amount of space is required. That is to say, since the cap is a cup-like arrangement closed on the upper side, only one antenna can be arranged on a single pole. This also increases the expense of mounting plural antennas. Also, it will be noted that, in the conventional arrangement, the curvature of the dish intersects the axis of the pole, thus, even if the cap portion were left open, a plurality of antennas could not be mounted. Further, since the mounting portion is in a closed circular form, the antenna must be installed from the top of the pole and cannot be arranged directly at a convenient position along a length thereof.